By Wilson Cruz and Tamara Sanchez
Los Angeles, CA and Waukegan, IL
When New Jersey resident Santford Overton was asked what he disliked most about President Donald Trump, he had a hard time choosing one thing.
“Everything about him is a fraud,” said Overton, 68, a retired school teacher.
By Libbing Barrera
Spring Valley, NY
Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker made clear at a press conference on Saturday that he’s not willing to abandon his progressive beliefs despite running for reelection in a swing district.
Zwicker, a physicist at Princeton, is running to continue representing the 16th district against former Assemblywoman Donna Simon and former Montgomery mayor Mark Caliguire, both Republicans.
By Josue Giron
Jersey City, NJ
With Election Day three months away, New Jersey Democratic Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker is making his case for reelection by pointing to his opposition to the Trump administration and his background as a scientist.
By HanYing Jiang and Williams Mejia
Madison, WI and New Brunswick, NJ
Though President Trump’s approval rating is extremely low, some people interviewed on a recent Friday evening in downtown Princeton grudgingly admitted that he has a few redeeming qualities.
Pranav Bachu, a student at the University of Illinois, said he saw “some rationale” for Trump’s strong anti-immigration views. Although he believes that Trump’s perspective on immigration restriction is too extreme, he did agree that some more vetting is needed, citing claims of Indian students applying for visas through falsified information.
By Elyse Luecke
St. Louis, MO
Walking into Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert’s office is like walking into a living room: homemade cards, family photos, and various resource books sit on the shelves behind her semi-circle desk, alongside a prominently featured greeting card from the Obama family. A small, light green cactus in a flower pot decorates her work space. The olive green walls are bare.
By Daren Braithwaite and Erianis Perez
New York City, NY and Milwaukee, WI
“Don’t even talk to me about Trump. He shouldn’t even be president,” said a woman in passing. Although this encounter lasted a fraction of a minute, it encapsulated what most people in Princeton, NJ, felt on August 4.
By Jorge Gomez-Kobayashi
Jersey City, NJ
Before he ran for office, Andrew Zwicker had more experience with plasma physics than he did with politics.
The Democratic Assemblyman from New Jersey thinks his atypical background as a fusion researcher at Princeton helped him win a Republican-leaning district in 2015 — a huge upset — and will help get him re-elected this fall.
By Aracely Chavez, Taylor Fetty, Breonna Reese, Sarah Santiago and Michael Williams with the staff of The Princeton Summer Journal
On Wednesday, August 10, ABC News correspondent Sunny Hostin was in the driver’s seat of her parked Mercedes SUV in lower Manhattan, unaware she was breaking the law. Hostin, simply by sitting in her air-conditioned vehicle, was one of many of New Yorkers who every day violate a little-known, seldom-enforced rule designed to reduce auto emissions. An infraction won’t land anyone in Rikers Island prison, but advocates argue that failing to enforce the law quietly wreaks financial and environmental havoc on the city.
In New York City, it is illegal for cars, vans or buses to idle for more than three minutes—or for more than one minute near a school. Over the course of several hours last week, a team of 37 high school reporters from the Princeton Summer Journal observed 104 vehicles idling for over three minutes in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Roughly 80 percent were private automobiles; the rest were commercial vehicles, limousines and taxis. After being approached and informed of the city’s three-minute anti-idling law, less than one in five drivers turned off their engines. Many weren’t shy about voicing their displeasure. “What difference does it make?” huffed an elderly woman in Brooklyn Heights who identified herself as Mrs. Pittman. “I don’t care about a law.” Continue reading
By Elia Morelos
Pacoima, CA
Steven Uccio is expected to lose his campaign for Congress. No amount of campaigning across New Jersey’s 12th District will change the fact that he is a huge underdog.
Uccio is running against incumbent Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman. As a Republican in a blue district, Uccio isn’t likely to attract enough voters—and that’s if they hear his message in the first place. Uccio, a first-time congressional candidate, receives scant media coverage.
Uccio isn’t a flawless candidate. His policy platform is incomplete, notably his lack of a position on Medicaid and food stamps, both important issues for low-income residents. He also intends to vote for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, whom is highly unpopular among Democrats—which Uccio will need to win over if he has any chance of victory. Continue reading
By Kay-Ann Henry
Miami Gardens, FL
The smell of kettle-corn lingers in the air, while a ferris wheel rises high above the fairgoers. Steven Uccio, a Republican candidate for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, is at the Middlesex County Fair in East Brunswick, N.J., with two of his staffers. At the moment, he is speaking to the Princeton Summer Journal about his campaign.
Uccio seems cool and unfazed in a polo shirt and khaki pants. He greets student journalists generously, noting that he’s received few questions over the last four years from the local press. He welcomes questions. He makes eye contact. He seems like a pretty typical young guy. Continue reading
The Princeton Summer Journal 